AN: Happy New Year everyone! Sorry not a long chapter, longer ones soon hopefully.
Lucius Malfoy was smirking as he read the evening edition of the Daily Prophet. Harry's statement was sure to have the gossips talking and would have mother's up and down the country trying to primp their daughters to perfection to catch his eye. Although Harry had stressed his lack of desire for a relationship at this time Lucius knew that would not stop the most ardent of suitors. After all, it wouldn't be stopping him, so there will definitely be others that would be trying to win the young Lord's favour. Lucius had an advantage over the others though, he had a legitimate reason to be spending time with Harry. He intended to use his lessons as an opportunity to deepen the friendship that he had been cultivating with Harry, in the hopes of turning it into a deeper and more intimate relationship in time.
Although Lucius had read through Harry's statement for him that morning he was glad to see it finally in print, and almost identical to the statement he had read earlier. He had been worried, not that he would admit it of course, not even to himself, that Harry would change his mind in regards to Miss Weasley despite all of her shortcomings. He had even been compiling some contingency plans to run by Narcissa the next time he saw her in case the harpy had managed to convince Harry to work on their relationship. He knew that Harry saw the Weasley's as family, just not as close as his sister, and wondered if he would change his mind to save his relationship with the whole family.
Given that he had been prepared to play the long game and had been planning different schemes to show Harry how wrong the young witch was for him he had been quite surprised at the speed in which the timeline had moved up. He had expected to have to spend longer slowly chipping away at Harry's relationship with the girl, but instead he could spend his time working on the relationship he wanted to build with Harry.
Pulling a sheet of parchment towards him he quilled a quick note to the other man expressing his sympathy in regards to the attention that he was sure to get now that the statement had been published. He then enquired about how the visit to the Weasleys had transpired, and gave him a heartfelt offer of sanctuary behind his wards if he needed it, be it from the press, the accumulated women of the world or the Weasleys.
He was just about to call for his owl to deliver the letter when an owl approached his window. It wasn't one that he recognised as belonging to anyone in his usual circles of correspondence, of course that didn't mean it wasn't a new purchase. Crossing the room he opened the window and allowed the owl inside, taking the letter from it as he did so. The owl flew to the owl stand he kept in his office to allow visiting owls to rest, eat and drink before their return flights.
Opening the missive he was surprised to see that it was a note from Heiress Potter Black, having not spent much time with her other than brunch that morning he wondered why she would be contacting. Reading the note requesting a luncheon meeting between them he was rather surprised, but intrigued at the same time. From what he knew of her she was probably hoping to gain permission to borrow some of the books he had seen her eyeing in his office earlier that day.
Knowing that she was a major influence in Harry's life it was best not to alienate her, any more than she had already been by his actions during the war that is. He quickly wrote her an affirmative reply agreeing to meet her at the restaurant that she had chosen the next day for lunch, he didn't have any pressing plans the next day and he was rather interested to hear which of his many books had captured her interest.
Almost as soon as he had put his quill down the owl was back at his side, its leg out awaiting the response to its Mistresses letter. Deciding to save his own owl the journey he tied both letters to the bird's leg, knowing that his letters would get to their intended recipients. He watched the owl as it flew away until it was just a speck on the horizon before leaving his office for the evening in favour of a walk around the grounds.
Lucius couldn't help but wonder to himself as he walked whether or not he would be seeing Harry again before their lesson on Friday night. He may after all attend with his sister if she came to select some books, he would no doubt be worrying about how the trip to the manor would affect her. He had seen the worried glances he had sent her every now and then that day, it being her first time back in his home since she had been held captive there during the war.
He would admit, only to himself of course, that he was insanely curious about what had transpired at the Weasley abode, and he was hopeful that the younger Lord would confide in him the details. Perhaps a few probing questions of the Heiress the next day may gain him a few insights, but he really wanted Harry to see him as a someone he could confide in and want to tell him about the goings on in his life. He would be patient, but available, and hopefully Harry would regard him as a friend soon enough, rather than just as a mentor.
Deciding to retire for the night Lucius made his way back to his suite of rooms, trying to ignore how large and empty the manor felt at the moment. With both Narcissa and Draco away the manor that had once felt rather large and grand for his family, now felt gigantic and uninviting. While he was still proud of his large stately home in a material sense, it lacked the sense of warmth and home that it had encompassed when he had his best friend and his son living there with him. At least Draco should be home for a few days later in the week and the manor would not be as empty as it currently was. His last thought before he fell into slumber was how he had enjoyed having people in the manor earlier that day, how the presence of a few Gryffindors in his home had actually made it feel warmer.